Renaissance marble table top to make $1.9m

The magnificent late-Renaissance table top anticipated to lead the sale is fresh to the market

A late-Renaissance table top, drawn from one of England's most prominent stately homes, is to auction at Sotheby's London on July 3.

New to the market: a late-Renaissance table top in-laid with rare antique marble

Brought from Florence to England in 1840, the table top, which is estimated to be worth 1.2m ($1.9m), is among the grandest and most elaborately decorated of its kind.

The dazzling table boasts a reputed Medici provenance: a pattern comprised of four acorns indicates that the Della Rovere family (who ruled the Dukedom of Urbino, a walled city situated in Italy's Marche region)commissioned the table.

Commenting on the forthcoming sale, which is entitled Treasures, Princely Taste, Deputy Chairman of Sotheby's Europe Mario Tavella said: "Each of the magnificent pieces in this sale meets the definition of a 'treasure'.

"In addition to their desirability relating to the sumptuous materials of which they are composed and the craftsmanship of the greatest artists of their time, these treasures - formerly the preserve of kings, princes and popes - each carry with them a fascinating story."